All We'd Ever Need
by onceuponafanfiction
Summary: When Sebastian Smythe transfers to McKinley, Rachel Berry is determined for him not to ruin all of the good things in her life. But could he possible be the best thing for her?Smytheberry.Klaine.Anderberry/Hummelberry Friendships.BEING REPOSTED IN PARTS
1. Chapter 1

**Title: All We'd Ever Need**

**Rating: T because of Language, References of Sex (but never shown), adult humor, Finn bashing, and violence during a fight.**

**Perspective: Third Person**

**Summary: When Rachel Berry met Sebastian Smythe on the first day of Senior Year, she hated the former Warbler because he wanted to break Kurt and Blaine apart. But is it possible that the two enemies can turn hatred into love before Nationals? Follow the friendship and Relationship of Sebastian Smythe and Rachel Berry.**

**Word Count: 18,822**

**This is a reposting because the original wouldn't open after working for one night ): So after many failed, attemps, I'm reposting it in parts. But everyone who didn't get to read it and those who want to read it again, please enjoy. **

* * *

><p>"Give me some Sugar, Pookie."<p>

"Sure thing sweetie," He giggled into the kiss.

Rachel Berry wanted to throw up.

She understood that her and Finn's that was in the past. She knew that maybe the whole incident at nationals was spur of the moment and that their last attempt of their relationship was a flop. But what she didn't understand? It was the couple making out on ten lockers down from her. Maybe it was fate that the Sugar girl moved in next door to Finn, maybe it was a blessing so Rachel wouldn't be tied to this small town.

All Rachel knew was that she didn't want to see any more of it.

"Rachel I have some fabulous news for you!"

She spun to see Kurt towing Blaine who could only laugh at his boyfriend. Kurt stopped ahead of her and took a few deep breathes, making Rachel wonder how far he must have ran. Kurt glanced around at every angle before facing Rachel, knowing that whatever he heard was safe.

"I heard a rumor about the musical this year. Mr. Schuester left the scripts for West Side Story, Grease, or Hairspray." He whispered.

Rachel squealed with excitement. "It's going to be an awesome year."

"Not anymore." Kurt groaned. "That boy is nothing but trouble."

"Who?" Rachel asked looking around.

"Kurt be nice, he's always been charming to me."

"He wants in your pants Blaine; of course he's going to act like Prince Charming. Rachel, we're talking about him."

Rachel glanced over her shoulder past Sugar and Finn to where she saw a new student walking down the hall. He would have blended in if it wasn't for the shirt with the colors she recognized so well. The navy blue and red lacrosse sweatshirt wearing boy walked until it reached the area near where Sugar and Finn were making out.

Rachel had no idea who this boy was, but all she knew was that he was the most attractive boy she has seen since she met Blaine. His hair was styled upward as he rolled his eyes as the couple continued to kiss. He cleared his throat once and did it once more, trying to break the couple apart. Finally he lifted up the lacrosse stick in his hand before banging it on the locker beside Finn.

"Excuse me planet of the apes? My locker's here and I'd like to get to it."

Rachel stifled a laugh as Finn stepped away taking Sugar by the hand. Though Kurt didn't seem too content with the boy, Rachel had grown to like him immediately. This guy might have talked like a male version of Santana, but that took intelligence and that was something rare to find around here. There was still a chance he would become one of those jocks who through slushies around, but she was hoping otherwise.

"Don't talk to people like that" Finn said before examining him from head to toe, "especially my girlfriend new boy."

"I'm not afraid of you or your girlfriend. It's going to take a lot more than a letterman jacket and what appears to be your daddy's money to boss me around." The boy promptly placed his last book in his locker and slammed it shut. He glanced towards the couple and gave them a wink. "See you around Lovebirds."

Rachel couldn't help but smile at the exchange. The boy suddenly looked in their direction and started approaching them, waving at Blaine in the meanwhile. He grew closer and closer until he stood in front of all of them. He pulled Blaine into a quick hug before mouthing something at Kurt, and lastly giving Rachel a curious glance.

"Rachel Berry, this is Sebastian Smythe. Sebastian Smythe, this is Rachel Berry. His room was next door to mind last year." Blaine said.

"Any friend of Blaine's is a friend of mine."

The name Sebastian seemed to suit the boy with the lacrosse stick. He extended his hand towards Rachel's and she shook it, almost waiting to get an insult. Man hands, dwarf, midget, and other insults ran through her head as she shook. Instead he gave her a small smile before letting go. Something about this boy struck her as familiar, but she couldn't place a finger on it.

"I recognize you." Sebastian said with a smirk. "You made out with that ape over there at nationals. You have quite a voice. So, can you tell me when famous New Directions meets?"

"You sing?" She asked.

"Like an angel Sweet cheeks." He smirked and glanced towards Blaine and Kurt. "I was a Warbler last year. I hate to say it Blaine, but I'm going for every male solo. I'm not always going to sing backup for the amazing voice of yours."

That's when Rachel remembered why Kurt didn't like this boy. The way Sebastian looked at Blaine was one she had known too well and Kurt mentioned he wanted in Blaine's pants. His eyes were ones of complete adoration and Sebastian was obviously head over heels for Blaine. By the way he had talked to Finn, the comment to Kurt that Sebastian made, it all seemed to piece together so well. He was going to try to break up the two. Rachel Berry wasn't going let that happen.

"Can either of you three show me where the locker room is? Blaine?"

Rachel knew what he was trying to do. So she looked up to the boy who stood a foot taller than her and wore her best show choir smile. "I'll walk you there Sebastian. It's Blaine's first day too, so he'll be as clueless as you are."

"Never mind, I can figure it out." Sebastian answered. "No big deal."

"No, I insist." Rachel linked her arm around his. "I know this place inside and out, I want our newest glee club member to feel welcome."

Rachel knew she was practically dragging Sebastian away, but she knew it was for the good. She could tell Sebastian was disappointed but the look on Kurt's face made worthwhile. It was going to be a long year if she had to keep the façade of seeming happy and friendly around him. He might have bashed Finn, but she would do anything for her best friends to stay together.

"You know that I don't like you." Sebastian said, as they distanced themselves.

"The feelings going to be mutual as long as you like Sebastian." She said. "My dislike for you is only going to get worse over time."

"It's good to know that we're on the same page." He smirked.

* * *

><p>The first time Sebastian attended a glee club meeting, Rachel knew Mr. Schuester was sold that they were going to Nationals. They had gained five new members: Harmony a sophomore from a nearby town, Rory a foreign exchange student, Sugar the tone deaf girlfriend of Finn, Rachel's best friend Blaine, and of course Sebastian. It was going to be the strongest group that they've ever had and they were easily going to head to nationals.<p>

As she looked around the room, she remembered a time where there was only Finn, Kurt, Artie, Mercedes, Tina, and herself in a club that struggled to stay afloat when they were sophomores. Now they were joined by Mike, Brittany, Santana, Quinn, Sam, Puck, and Lauren. They had eighteen members and though it meant that they were going to have a strong group, it was going to be the most difficult year when it came to solos.

"Now everyone, we have our first assignment already." Mr. Schuester said. "This assignment is going to be due the night of our show November and it's one that everyone can handle. We're putting on a school musical and everyone has to participate in some shape or form. Auditions will be on Friday September Thirtieth and the cast list will be posted on Monday October Third before school."

Rachel glanced towards Kurt and Blaine who wore eager smiles like hers. Was it going to be Grease? West Side Story? Hairspray? She didn't know, but she was excited to be participating. Especially being announced this early meant that it was going to be extravagant and that it was going to require more practice than last year's. Maybe this time they would be able to actually perform it in front of the school. That had to be one of the worse parts of that whole ordeal.

"What's the show?"

The dark haired girl named Harmony asked, a smile growing on her face. Rachel had always worried about Mercedes and Santana as competition, but Harmony was serious about her passion. Rachel hadn't even heard her sing and she could only hope Harmony sounded like Sugar when she sang. Rachel's instincts told her that Harmony was a mini version of Rachel and nothing scared her more. Rachel prayed that she couldn't act, sing, or write songs; the chances of that were about as slim as her small perfect build.

"Drum Roll please?"

The student sitting at the drum set started playing quickly. For a moment, Rachel wondered why there was always a band or why Brad was always just hanging around the music room. She shook her head and ignored that thought, returning her mind back to the musical. Everyone seemed to take a deep breath in as Mr. Schuester grinned.

"We will be performing Mamma Mia!"

The room filled with cheers and other sounds. Rachel was happy with the show, she would have preferred West Side story but this show has plenty of roles. There were two female leads, one could go to Harmony and one could go to Rachel. If she could sing, they could place them as Donna and Sophia; that would make the most sense.

"What if we don't want to do the musical?" Finn asked.

Rachel snapped her head towards Finn who sat in his seat with Sugar on his lap. The room went silent as everyone watched him. Rachel knew he had changed and she knew that Finn wouldn't drop glee club, but in a way she understood why he wasn't doing the show. Last year he had gone past his comfort zone and hated every moment of it; maybe he didn't want to go under that same pressure again.

"Then you will help out in some aspect of the show. Whether it be set, advertising, just do something to help."

"Can I student direct? I love music and it's my passion; but theatre isn't." Artie said glancing around "I've always wanted to try it."

"Would anyone disagree with this?" Mr. Schuester asked. With no responses, Mr. Schuester clapped his hands once and looked around the room. "Now that that's settled, would any of our newcomers care to perform something before I hand out our second assignment?"

"I would!" Harmony said standing up.

Rachel held a groan as the girl hurried to the front of the group. As Rachel expected, Harmony performed a song from Wicked. Everyone watched with polite smiles, but Rachel knew by the looks the girl had already earned a dislike in the club. Rachel noticed the Irish boy staring directly at Harmony; she could sense that they would become the power couple in glee.

Following her performance, every newcomer took their turn. Rory sang a ballad from home, proving his voice to be perfect for soft and jazzy duets. Blaine did some pop song that Rachel had heard a few times on the radio but like usual, he was amazing and reminded Rachel how well their voices could blend together. Sugar performed her rendition of Céline Dion's "My Heart Will Go On" that nearly sent Rachel into a fit of rage for ruining such a well written song.

"Looks like we have Sebastian left. Would you like to perform today?"

Sebastian shrugged and nodded before walking towards the lineup of guitars. "Can I play any of these?"

"Sure." Mr. Schuester grinned and looked towards Sam, Puck, and Artie. "Looks like we got ourselves another guitar player."

"Don't forget Blaine. He's quite the talented player himself." Sebastian smiled towards his friend. "So I'm going to play 'I Want You to Want Me' by Cheap trick."

Rachel knew that he already won the heart of Mr. Schuester. The old song led the group to clapping along and she couldn't help but notice the change in the air. The different couples shared smiles and grins as he sang; a few of them sang improve backups. Everyone had smiles as they enjoyed the performance. Except for Kurt and Rachel.

_"I want you to want me. I need you to need me. I'd love you to love me. I beggin' you to beg me."_

He was singing directly towards Blaine, though Blaine didn't seem to notice. He just clapped along giving the loving stares towards Kurt who glared at Sebastian. Rachel knew that Blaine was faithful to Kurt one hundred percent, but it was Sebastian who appeared to be willing to do anything to break the pair apart.

At the conclusion of his performance everyone clapped and cheered for the former warbler. He took the empty seat beside Rachel because it was the closest one to Blaine. She looked towards him with a gritted smile as Mr. Schuester talked about the first group number they'll practice.

"Lay off." She spoke through her teeth.

"Bring it on." He answered with a grin.

* * *

><p>"Isn't it convenient that you're here?" Rachel pursed her lips.<p>

"I got invited just like you." Sebastian shrugged as he slipped into the seat across from her. "You'd look hotter if you weren't such a bitch."

"I could say the same about you Meer cat."

She glanced around the karaoke joint that Kurt and Blaine had invited her to. They had visited a few times during the summer and Rachel had heard all about Blaine's various serenades to Kurt. Kurt had brought it up and Blaine asked if Rachel could tag along, but the timing was inconvenient. Sebastian had managed to overhear the invitation and he was politely invited by Blaine. It hasn't been a month since she has met the boy and she already couldn't stand him.

"So what's your plan tonight? Corner Blaine and make him yours?" Rachel asked with a laugh. "You're attempt to corner him Auditions yesterday and that failed so you want to try again? That's just idiotic."

"How'd you know about that?" He smirked. "You're not as dumb as I thought Pinocchio. You might actually have some brain cells in that empty head of yours."

"I could tell by the way you looked at Blaine, Craigslist. Why do you want him so badly? Jealous you couldn't score him when you had a chance at Dalton."

"The same reason you did last year." Sebastian answered. "He's the best thing in this whole town. He's sexy, he's gay, he's dapper, he can play more instruments than I can count, and he's going to be a superstar, even if he doesn't know it yet. It was convenient I got to transfer to the same school. I almost had to give up on him."

"I know he's gay, I'm the one who unfortunately confirmed that." She added. "What about you? Gay? Bi? Which one?" Rachel pressed.

"What's it to you? Are you homophobic?" He growled.

"My two dads would say contrary. Not to mention, they're my best friends."

"Sorry I didn't know." He said over the music. "I'm bisexual to answer your question, why were you planning to make a move on me?" Sebastian wriggled his brows.

"Even if you were the last guy on the planet, I still wouldn't go for you."

"You're probably right. My body would be too much for you to handle. Especially my dick- Hey Blaine!"

"Hey Kurt" Rachel said, acknowledging him. "How are my two favorite boys doing?"

"Good, except I walked in on Finn and Sugar practically hooking up in our room." Kurt gagged. "So have you guys ordered anything yet?"

"No, she was just telling me how she's excited to do a duet with Kurt tonight."

Rachel kicked Sebastian from underneath the table and he flinched before quickly straightening his face. Kurt smiled, seeing what Rachel had done. Blaine on the other hand melodramatically placed his hand over his heart and pretended to be heart broken.

"And you didn't want to sing with me? Well Rachel Berry, I'm just offended. Our duets are kickass."

"I'll perform with anyone who wants to perform." Rachel answered before looking at Sebastian with a look that said "except for you".

"Well let's order." Blaine said opening his menu.

In no time the group had started eating and listened to the bad karaoke. They cheered on the brave individuals even if they were terrible, laughed at the terrible groups, and just enjoyed the evening. Sebastian had managed to avoid all of his insults when Blaine was around, obviously trying to impress the former Warbler.

"I'm going to sign up, come on Kurt let's figure out a duet."

Rachel was left alone with Sebastian and she stared him down as he did to her. She knew she was being the biggest pain for Sebastian; he was just trying to get together with Blaine. She wondered how Quinn felt when Rachel was trying to do anything to get together with Finn. She laughed to herself, thinking about how big of a fool she was.

"So what did you sign up for?" Sebastian asked.

"It's going to be a surprise." Kurt grinned.

It had to be the worse surprise Rachel Berry has ever experienced.

The older woman in the denim shirt approached the microphone and tapped it a few times as a pop song played softly in the background. "Looks like its Rachel Berry and Sebastian Smythe up here singing now. They'll be performing Someday We'll Know by Mandy More and Jonathon Foreman. Come on up!"

Rachel glanced towards Blaine and Kurt who held back laughter. She could tell exactly why Kurt did this; he wanted a moment alone with his boyfriend. She didn't blame him. All she knew was that she was going up to sing the duet and blow Sebastian out of the water, even if she really didn't want to sing the duet in the first place.

She stepped onto the stage where Sebastian stood and she let her hair down as the music started. "You're going down, just so you know."

Sebastian covered his microphone so the audience couldn't hear. "You'd enjoy me going down on you wouldn't you?"

"I was about to call you a pig, but that would be an insult to those animals." Rachel rolled her eyes.

"Call me Sebastian then, I haven't even hear you call me that since the day I met you." He said with a quick smile.

She had no idea why he was smiling, but she found herself smiling too. He might have been a pain, but he was a good source of her aggravation. Anything going wrong in this few weeks of school could be fixed with Sebastian bashing with Kurt or her and Sebastian's mutual agreement of disliking each other. Maybe he wasn't so bad.

Rachel glanced up to the screen seeing the words light up and she began to sing _"Ninety miles outside Chicago Can't stop driving I don't know why. So many questions, I need an answer, Two years later you're still on my mind."_

_"Whatever happened to Amelia Earhart? Who holds the stars up in the sky? Is true love just once in a lifetime?"_ Sebastian asked.

_"Did the captain of the Titanic cry?"_ They both sang together.

Rachel hated to sound cliché, but when they sang it was just plain magic. They just had voices that seemed to mesh well, even if their personalities didn't. When she sang, she wasn't thinking about Sebastian trying to break up Klaine. All she could think of was how it just sounded, well good. She had heard him sing a few times, but mostly she just tuned him out.

_"Someday you'll know, That I was the one for you... "_

As they sang their final line the room clapped, a few even stood up and clapped for them. She looked towards the table where Blaine and Kurt were on their feet clapping, Blaine whistling at them. She glanced towards Sebastian and with them both being theatre students they did what they normally did at curtain call.

They took each other's hands and bowed, letting their hands probably linger longer then they should have been.

"I got the part!"

* * *

><p>Rachel felt her heart stop at Harmony jumping into the arms of her boyfriend Rory. She approached the white sheet of paper and she felt like yelling the same. She was Donna and she had landed the lead in her senior musical. With Noah approaching, she jumped up and down squealing with joy.<p>

"I got the part! I'm Donna! I got the lead!" She said over and over.

Noah grinned at his favorite Jewish girl. He walked to the white sheet and examined the list looking for his name. "I'm Bill? Who's he?"

"He's a sailor and book writer who ends up with Rosie." Rachel answered before and glanced at the sheet. "Who is Mercedes and I end up with Sebastian-"

"What about me?"

She spun and saw the taller boy behind her. Their trip to karaoke changed her perspective slightly. Maybe the designer sunglasses that hung off his shirt wasn't a way of showing off his Daddy's money, his face didn't seem to have as much of the appearance of a rat as she remembered, and his presence in general wasn't as bad of a sight as it was today. In his jeans and sweatshirt, Rachel for the first time didn't seem to feel uneasy.

She pointed at the paper and his jaw dropped. He ran his fingers through his messy hair and blinked his blue eyes in surprise before pulling his fist down in excitement.

He looked at Rachel with a look of astonishment. "I'm Sam!"

"Our voices blend well, right Sebastian?" She said, sending him a smile.

"Rachel's right. Part of the reason why we put you two together was because of the duet the Blaine posted online." Artie said, rolling up in his chair.

"He posted that?" They said in unison.

"Of course, you both have the voice for theatre and you sound great." Blaine said with a shrug before looking at the list. "I'm Sky? Wait, I got a lead?"

"Blaine, you have no idea how talented you really are." Kurt said, wrapping a proud hand around his boyfriend. He looked at the list and shook his head with a grin. "Of course I'd play the gay potential father, but I don't mind."

"So that means you're going to be making out with Sebastian?"

Rachel realized what Blaine said. Rachel was happy to say the least that she got the roll she wanted, but she wasn't sure how the next few weeks were going to go. The remainder of the karaoke evening was lovely, but before the duet he was just nasty to her. She hoped that the friendship would continue to grow.

"Ready to go to chemistry Donna?" Sebastian smirked.

"Of course I'm ready Sam, who wouldn't be ready to discuss the electronic configuration of Neon." She rolled her eyes.

She walked beside the boy for the first time to the class. They had always had the class together but not until today did they walk there side by side purposely. As she walked beside him, there was a feeling in her stomach. She glanced up and saw him wear a smirk when she realized what she had felt.

Rachel felt love for the first time since she had made out with Blaine.

"Rachel, would you like to run lines sometime?" He asked.

Rachel nodded and felt her cheeks redden for no particular reason. "Yeah, that would be great."

"Once we get scripts let's meet up at the Lima Bean. We can…."

Their conversation was promptly interrupted by the grape slush hitting their face. She heard the sound of Mr. Schuester getting the students as she slowly opened her eyes. Sebastian stood in shock, it was his first time every receiving a slushy facial. She took him by the hand as she squinted into the nearby girl's bathroom.

"Where are we going?" Sebastian tried to blink the sting out of his eye.

"We're going to Bathroom to wash it out."

"Why can't I use the locker room?" Sebastian pressed.

"You'd be dead meat. That's where the jock's that slushied you gather." She answered. "I think I can handle them and their obnoxious asses." He said. "I play lacrosse for the school; I'm considered a jock as much as they are."

"Not with you being in glee club. So just trust me and please avoid the locker room."

"Okay." He whispered. "Why do they do this anyways?"

"They want to let you know that you're a loser."

"You'll never be a loser Rachel. You have a voice that'll take you anywhere you lead it to. I know I'm supposed to be this total jerk to you, but everyone knows that's true. You deserve every solo you get in glee club and probably every other one too."

Sebastian shocked Rachel. No boy had ever talked to her like that. Her fathers had sent it on countless occasions, but a boy who she had barely known for a month? It felt like every moment he was losing that idiotic side that he had characterized himself by and replacing it with someone more-charming?

"Thank you." She answered with gratitude.

She pulled the chair out, more than ever wanting to take care of Sebastian for his first time being slushied. Rachel guided him to the seat as she ran the water through his hair, watching the sink fill with the sticky grape juice. Rachel knew her outfit was going to get ruined, but she could honestly care less. Her spare set of clothes still sat in her locker, but poor Sebastian had nothing.

"You're all set. I'm going to wash my hair, but if I were you I'd get that shirt and sweatshirt under some cool water and soap. They might still have a chance. Then I'll call Sam, you and him are about the same size and he'll get you some fresh clothing."

"You just want to see me shirtless. I don't blame you, I do happen to have a sexy body."

There goes prince charming.

Rachel rolled her eyes as she sent a message to Kurt and Sam, asking each of them to bring clothes to the bathroom. By the time Rachel had finished washing her hair and Sebastian had managed to remove a portion of the stain, Kurt had arrived with the clothes.

"Rule number one new boy; always bring a spare set of clothes other than your gym ones." Kurt tossed the jeans and shirt towards Sebastian before he handed her the sundress and sweater. "I gotta get back to geometry. See you around Diva."

Rachel waved and turned to walk towards the stall to see Sebastian in just a pair of boxers. She closed her eyes and she covered her eyes as she walked to the closest stall. She couldn't believe that Sebastian just changed in front of her, as she stepped out of her clothes she felt her whole face flush.

"Why are you such a prude?" He hollered. "You know, we could have a quickie."

"Only in your dreams." She answered, feeling like he would approve her remark.

"Those are my favorite ones."

* * *

><p>It had been a month of rehearsal and Rachel was already exhausted. Artie's name had become synonymous tyrant as he called for rehearsal every possible moment. Finn and Sugar had been fighting and everybody knew because of their constant battles in glee. Harmony had managed to try to make everything she could a competition with Rachel and Rachel quickly grew tired.<p>

She only had a few escapes in her life. Her trips to the Lima Bean with Sebastian to run over lines, Saturday movie nights with Kurt and Blaine, her card rides with Tina and Mike in the mornings, and her Sunday morning breakfast with her Daddies before she rehearsed Sunday afternoon. Glee club still occurred, but Rachel was too busy applying to NYADDA and just practicing for this show.

Her feelings for Sebastian had done nothing but grown. Her moments with him made even the most stressful moments comical. He was always making her smile, even if he wasn't trying. A sly remark here, a crude joke there, and the occasional surprise coffee during lunch made him become a highlight of her day.

It was the Thursday before opening night when Rachel finally received her first day off. It was a dark night, so after the preview for the school she could just return home after the set was put back into place. After eating her fruit salad, she wandered into the classroom of Mr. Schuester asking permission if she could practice alone in the auditorium.

When he agreed, Rachel hurried into the auditorium with no intention of rehearsing. She turned on the lights and called out "hello" several times making sure that no one was in there. When she concluded that she was alone, she began walking towards the wings where the various set and prop pieces resided.

Rachel laid against the bed that was being used for the "Dancing Queen" dance number with an exasperated sigh. By the time she had returned home from rehearsal and finished her homework, it was late into the night. When she woke up in the morning she didn't have the energy to do her work outs, instead she smacked the alarm clock.

So with a lunch without a rehearsal with Artie and the lack of afternoon classes from this afternoon's preview for the school, she wanted to use this free time to her advantage. She settled onto the bed and curled into a ball, trying not to mess up the sheets. She closed her eyes and instantly felt at ease as she drifted into sleep.

That is until she felt tapping on her shoulder.

She opened her eyes and looked around the auditorium, fearful that it was time for the preview already. That's when she noticed Sebastian sitting at the foot of her bed, grinning at her. She groaned and gave him a kick in the side as she groaned and tried to curl herself into a tighter ball. Instead he stood up and quickly pulled her onto her feet.

"Follow me." Sebastian whispered.

"Let me sleep." She groaned.

"Come on, you'll like what I'm going to show you"

Rachel didn't know if she should follow him. But the look in his eyes and her heart told her to follow him, even if her brain didn't. She watched as he jumped into the air, reaching for the sliding ladder. He caught the step of the ladder and swung it down.

"Ladies first" He motioned.

She was halfway up the ladder when she realized she was wearing a skirt. She glanced down to see Sebastian plainly staring up her skirt. He gave her a wink and she hurried up the ladder as fast as she could before she stepped onto the fly deck. He joined her only seconds later and they both looked around the auditorium.

Rachel had known the fly deck was up here; the stagehands were always working as they managed the ropes and lights. She had never been up here before but she had only heard stories about here. While the jocks and athletes used underneath the bleachers as their area to hook up, the theatre students used this area.

Did this mean Sebastian wanted to hook up?

"It's an awesome view." He said before looking at her.

Rachel didn't notice him change into the button up because he was wearing just a shirt if she could remember right. Maybe her imagination was playing with her or maybe he received a slushy from one of the hockey player's. Even with Brittany as class president, those kind of things still occur behind Brittany's or a teacher's watch.

"It's great." She said.

"Do you want to know a secret?" Sebastian asked.

Rachel nodded.

"I love you." He grinned.

Suddenly her body was pressed against the wall, Sebastian being careful not to hit any of the ropes or light switches on the sky deck. She knew they shouldn't be doing this, they were trusted by Mr. Schuester to practice during lunch on the stage without fooling around like this. But it felt so good to be kissed by him that she didn't want to stop.

"I want you so bad." He whispered placing a kiss on her neck.

"Sebastian, we can't be doing this here." She answered before he kissed her again.

"What the hell?" Sebastian said as she reached for his shirt.

She knew the shirt should lift easily up, but the hem of his shirt wasn't moving. The shirt was a snap up, but it didn't snap as she ripped at it. She reached again and it was slimy and sticky. He placed a kiss below her ear and murmured something into her ear. Rachel was confused and she tried to listen again this time hearing it loud and clear.

"Do you normally try to take people's shirts off when they sleep?"

Her eyes snapped open to see Sebastian standing over her, some sort of sauce running down the front of his shirt. Rachel gasped as she sat up on the bed and looked around. She was on the bed, not on the fly deck making out with Sebastian. She glanced over her shoulder to make sure it wasn't a dream. The ladder was still up and the fly deck was empty.

"No, I'm sorry. I was just having a dream" She sat up and ran her fingers through her hair.

"From that look on your face, it seemed to be a pretty intense dream." He smirked. "I can't help it that I give sweet girls like you such pleasurable dreams."

"A dream about me forgetting my lines is real pleasurable." Rachel lied and rolled her eyes, hoping he didn't notice he was right. "What do you need?"

"Since you're a master of getting rid of stains, I thought I could enlist your help. I have a spare set of clothes but my mom's going to kill me if I come home with a shirt stained like this again."

"Did you do this or was it some hockey jock?" She yawned.

"It wasn't one of them. But I swear to you that packet of barbeque sauce put up a good fight." He grinned.

Rachel placed her hand on his back. "Come on Rocky Balboa, we gotta get you cleaned up before our performance."


	2. Chapter 2

**Part Two:**

* * *

><p>"I hate you and your stupid little face."<p>

Rachel glanced up to see Sugar with her arms crossed in front of her. Rachel groaned, at least it wasn't Harmony trying to challenge her for applause or something like that for the show. Sugar instead wore a look of complete hatred in her dancer's costume as she stared down Rachel.

"Why do you say that?" Rachel asked, pinning a piece of hair back.

"Finn broke up with me for you, you little skank."

Rachel resisted the urge to slap the girl. But her Dad and Daddy's words began to echo through her head, reminding her of a girl who used to knock her over during ballet. Rachel heard "Sticks and Stones may break my bones but words can never hurt me".

"I don't like Finn; I don't have any interest in him anymore."

Sugar rolled her eyes. "Just stay away from him. All he's looking for is the Berry Cherry."

"Excuse me?" Rachel growled.

"He wants to have sex and take your virginity like a bad booty call. Then he'll dump you and your frumpy grandma clothes to the curb to get back together with me. Oops, I have self-diagnosed Asperger's. So I guess I'll see you around."

As Sugar walked away, Rachel groaned. At least he wasn't in the show; he would just be in the audience somewhere watching. Rachel didn't know if what Sugar was saying was true, but with Sugar and Finn being broke up over the last week she could only assume what she was saying was true. It was just the icing on the cake.

"You like him and you have for a long time."

Rachel glanced over in the mirror to see Blaine's reflection standing behind her. Was he talking about Sebastian? She had no clue how he found out about her feelings for him, but she wasn't planning on telling him the truth anytime soon. Maybe he thought she liked someone else in the glee club?

"Who do I like?" Rachel placed a pale eye shadow on her eye lid.

"You know who." Blaine smirked as he sat in the makeup chair beside her. "Sebastian."

She glanced towards him and rushed as she placed blush on her cheeks. Rachel hadn't told anyone, she hadn't planned on telling anyone in the first place. He was Sebastian Smythe, glee club's residential flirt. He had stopped most of his flirtations with Blaine, but he still sent a flirtatious comment to both genders every now and then.

If she would have told anyone, they would have warned her away from the former Warbler. Puck and Kurt already hated him, she really didn't talk to Mercedes as much as she wished she would, Tina was always busy with mike, leaving only Blaine as her possible person to tell. He would have given her some sappy speech about how she could do anything, but he would ultimately sugar coat the situation in order to make her feel better.

"I don't like him. He's just a really good friend." She covered, placing a dab of blush onto Blaine's right cheek. "We've been hanging out, you know rehearsing our lines every chance we have. We want it to be as authentic as possible."

"I've seen the way you look at him. It's the way Santana looks at Brittany, the way Sam looks at Mercedes, the way Harmony looks at Rory, and how I look at Kurt."

Rachel glanced down at her outfit, knowing Blaine was right.

"Please don't tell him." She whispered. "I don't think he likes me and I don't want to ruin our friendship."

"Break a leg tonight, enjoy the kiss." He said as he walked away.

Rachel had forgotten about the kiss that she was going to share with Sebastian. With their countless run through of the shows, Artie had made sure they never rehearsed the kiss. He claimed that he wanted the perfect "We haven't kissed in twenty years" kiss and it wasn't going to look real if they practiced. But tonight it would be for the first time on stage.

With everything running through her mind about the kiss, she remembered Blaine never promised not to keep his mouth clothes. "Please don't tell anyone!"

"I won't say anything unless if you tell me to. But I'm pretty sure he feels the same way and has since you sang karaoke together." Blaine said over the shoulder with a smirk.

Sebastian liked her?

Rachel felt like screaming to the rooftops of the school, she needed to find him. She couldn't wait through the show, she needed to find Sebastian and she needed him now. She hurried through the backstage area, looking around at every corner. The words were running through her mind, she had no idea what she was going to say or what she was going to do.

Rachel finally spotted Sebastian. He was walking out of costuming and he spotted her. She ran, letting her gladiator sandals click against the ground. She hurried towards him who just gave a confused look. She stopped and realized how out of breath she was, she place one finger up in the air towards him.

"Where's the fire Berry?" He chuckled.

"I like you."

Rachel watched his face go blank. Her heart stopped, as he thoughts seemed to go through his mind. Rachel doubted Blaine, maybe he was wrong. After all, Sebastian still might have had a crush on Blaine. But as quickly as Rachel's worries appeared, they disappeared with the large smile on Sebastian's face.

"I like you too, even if you're the biggest pain in my ass."

"Well aren't you a Meer cat Romeo." She grinned.

"It's only because you're my Pinocchio Juliet."

He leaned down and gave her a short kiss as the backstage lights gave out. They both knew it meant it was time to gather as a group, but they didn't care. They held onto kiss that they both had been dreaming of, his cola lips mixing with her lemon water ones. When they finally pulled away, she took his hand as they walked towards the group

It was the best kiss Rachel Berry had ever experienced.

* * *

><p>"If you're going to go on a first official date with him to with his Warbler friends, you have to dress nicely." Kurt said sitting onto her bed. "Hence the way I'm dressing."<p>

"So should I pull out a low cut dress? Or should I do a signature skirt and sweater match set? My daddies bought me the cutest sweater with a cat on it that could go perfect with a skirt I have." Rachel suggested.

"We're going ice skating. Dress nicely, but I wouldn't wear a dress. You don't want to give the boys a show. A few of them have girlfriends, but the majority is going to try to get with you." Blaine said, turning the television on. "Sweet, there's an Eagles game on."

"Blaine, no matter how attractive you are, I could honestly care less about football after my stint as a kicker. Let's focus on Rachel."

"So what should I wear?" Rachel glanced around her closet that was color coded.

"I'm not a fan of Sebastian, but I know he makes you happy and he really cares about you. So as your best friend, I'm going to try to find that'll make Sebastian want you more than he already does." Kurt sighed.

"I don't think so." Blaine piped in from his spot. "I don't want him getting all touchy with Rachel. He may be my friend from Dalton, but Rachel's practically a sister. So I'm going to play that protective older sibling part in this whole scheme of things."

Rachel had enlisted the help of Kurt to help her figure out what to wear for Sebastian and hers first official date as a couple. It just happened that Blaine ended up tagging along because Kurt was his ride, leaving Rachel with her two friends in her bedroom. While Kurt was focused on topic at hand, Blaine was enjoying his time watching football and looking through her playbills.

Kurt examined Rachel from head to toe and sighed. "Though I normally don't advice it for a girl with a build like yours to hide your legs, go with jeggings. They're the closest things to tights you'll get, but they'll keep everything covered and warm. Do you have any?"

"I only have one pair that my cousin gave me. They're still hanging in the closet."

Kurt sat up and pulled the jeggings with an approving nod. He tossed them to Rachel and began to scour through the closet. He tossed a long sleeve cream shirt with a coffee sweater and a white scarf. Then with a quick nudge of encouragement, Rachel was tossed towards the bathroom in her large bedroom.

As Rachel took off the sundress and sweater she intended to wear, Rachel looked at herself in the mirror. Would Sebastian be proud to show her off? She had seen the Warblers in the audience at their Mamma Mia performance, but that was going to be different. She was going to have to interact, laugh, and talk with the boys that are best friends with the men in her life.

She put the outfit on, unsure what to expect. But Kurt's eye for Fashion proved to be great because Rachel felt beautiful. Instead of straightening her hair like she usual did, she placed mouse into her curls. She placed a small clip into her hair and placed the small earrings from her jewelry box.

Rachel sighed and took out her makeup, knowing she could handle this aspect. As she picks up a tube of blood red lipstick, she laughs remembering two years earlier. She had loaded on makeup and wore a spandex outfit that Kurt had chosen to sabotage her. Everything had changed since then.

Though Finn and Rachel had their run, Finn had been giving her the eye since the cast party at Mike's and it made Rachel believe what Sugar said was true. Kurt was one of her best friends along with his boyfriend. She and Mercedes had grown apart and there was no longer the Diva trio with Kurt, Rachel, and herself. Puck was still as protective as ever and most relationships had changed in the club. Now she was dating an archenemy of Kurt.

She opened her bathroom door to see her best friends making out on the bed.

"So it's not okay for Sebastian to get touchy with me, but it fine for Blaine to be kissing Kurt's neck"

Kurt flipped over and hit Blaine on the side. "I told you she was coming!"

"It's different." Blaine answered loosening his bowtie. "Is it me or is hot in here?"

"I think it might be Rachel, she looks hot. You look stunning really; it's simple but sophisticated, sexy but understated. It's perfect."

"You look gorgeous; I'm going to have to keep the boys away from you." Blaine groaned. "Both the Warblers and your boyfriend."

She chuckled as she looked out the window. Sebastian's truck was here besides Kurt's car, but there was no sight of Sebastian. Were her fathers interrogating him? She could only hope they weren't, she could only imagine the questions they were asking him. She hurried to the door only to open it as Sebastian was about to knock.

"She-you, see-look, great-beautiful." Sebastian stuttered. "You look beautiful."

"Thank you." She said, standing on her toes to give him a peck on the cheek.

The once nervous Sebastian seemed to regain his composition as he glanced over his shoulder towards Blaine and Kurt on the bed. "Having a threesome without me? You know I would have joined if you just asked."

"You weren't waiting for me long were you?"

"Ten minutes maybe, but it's worth it." Sebastian smiled. "Your dads did interrogate me though. How old I am, why am I interested in their daughter, how well of a driver I am, what my grades were, and what I do after school besides glee and musical. They complimented me on my performance though."

"So did they approve of you?"

"I think so, but who doesn't like me?" He said in his cocky tone.

Sebastian didn't seem to notice Kurt raising his hand; of course Blaine pulled it down before he could notice. Blaine stood up from the bed and walked over to Sebastian, examining him up in down though he stood half a foot shorter than him. Blaine paused and looked upward at him.

"Sebastian, you're a good friend of mine. But Rachel is my girl along with the guy glee clubbers. Do anything to hurt her and you will end up in a hospital bed. Got it? "

Rachel stifled a laugh at Blaine being so out of character.

"Yes." Sebastian said, holding back a smile of his own. "Let's go, we still have at least an hour and a half drive to get to Westerville."

* * *

><p>Rachel and Sebastian sat on the ledge of the stage, taking a break from their usual group at lunch to celebrate the holidays. Rachel enjoyed the salad she had brought while Sebastian ate his favorite nutella and banana sandwich. It had been a happy month and a half of their relationship, there was no fights only blissful happiness. Even Kurt started to smile at Sebastian's comments.<p>

"So I didn't know what to get you." Rachel started, pointing towards the small box. "So I got you a few things."

"You didn't have to get me anything." Sebastian said.

"I didn't, but I did. Open it up."

Sebastian opened the small box that was wrapped in navy blue wrapping paper and with a bright red bow on top, making him smile. He untied the bow and lifted the top off, grinning immediately at the contents of the box.

Rachel had been struggling to put the gift together, but once she realized she should do a collection of things it was hard to stop gathering gifts. She had pictures of their relationship and photos from Mamma Mia placed onto a coffee mug, she had purchased him his favorite cologne that he complained he couldn't find, one scarf with the Warbler colors and one with William McKinley colors, a collection of candy, and the first four Scream Movies.

"It's perfect. You didn't have to do any of this." He said giving her a kiss.

"No, I wanted to." Rachel said as she pulled away. "Besides you gave me seven gifts for Hanukkah."

"But I have one more for Christmas." He grinned.

"Sebastian, I will not accept it. You spoiled me already." She said starting to stand up.

He tugged at her wrist and pulled her into his lap. Rachel sighed and looked at him. "What more could you possible give to me?"

Sebastian pulled a small little case out of his pocket and quickly revealed a necklace. It was simple, a silver snowflake with small diamond accents. It took her breath away out of its beauty. She never saw any of the other girls wear a snowflake, yet she wondered why he had chosen a snowflake instead.

"I know you love gold stars, but I think you're just like a snowflake. Every day now I see millions of them but it's the first one I catch every winter means the most to me. A snowflake is beautiful and unique, not like any other. It may not be the perfect snowflake that you see in drawings, but that first one is the best part of winter. You're the most beautiful and imperfectly perfect person I have ever met. You're the best part of me and I love you."

"I love you too." She smiled, wiping the tear away.

She leaned in and placed a kiss on his lips. If she ever had a top five moments of her life, this would be easily up there. Moments like these where he showed his sweet side is what made Rachel fall in love with the former Warbler. His attraction and once annoying sense of humor helped, but she knew that he was the real thing. When they went to New York in the fall, she would attend NYADDA while he attended Julliard for music.

When they broke apart, she sat in his arms just staring at the ceiling and enjoying the moment as they made small talk about their duet in the upcoming glee special. When the conversation eventually faded, Rachel remembered something that had been bugging her for ages.

"Tell me about your life before I met you."

"Well you know I used to go to Dalton. I had to transfer here because of my father actually." He started, taking another bite out of his sandwich. "My father and the headmaster were actually best friends growing up. They did everything together until this summer when the headmaster thought it was okay to hit on my mother and apparently to her it was."

"My parents got divorced after seventeen years and my mother and my headmaster got married. At the time we lived in a town about an hour south of Columbus where my dad was a part of a physical therapist practice and my mom was a housewife. There was a fire at the high school when I was in eighth. So my parents sent me to Dalton because of my father's best friend."

"So why did you move here?" Rachel asked.

"My Aunt lives here, she actually owns the Lima Bean." He added. "So when my father needed to leave our old life behind, he moved here and helps my Aunt now. With the recession a few years ago, he helped pay for the coffee shop and left his practice. He bought a house outside of town and only talks to my mom when he has to."

"I didn't know. I wouldn't have brought it up if I did." Rachel took his hand and gave it squeeze.

"It's fine, I'm glad I told you now. It's good to have a clean slate." He nodded before chuckling. "It kind of ruined the mood though."

Rachel wanted to think of something that could cheer her boyfriend up. That's when she thought of her dream from a month earlier of the two of them making out on the fly deck of the stage. She had lied saying it was an anxiety dream, but she wanted to be truthful. Trying to be as seductive as she could manage, she motioned a finger towards him. Sebastian leaned forward and she placed her lips near his ear.

"Want to hear a secret? It's a part of your Christmas gift that I forgot." She whispered.

Sebastian nodded with a grin, sensing where it was going.

"Remember when you had the barbeque sauce on your shirt and you woke me up during my dream? It was about you and me up there having a good time."

She stood up and glanced over her shoulder, sending him her best wink as she sauntered over towards the ladder that was down. As she scaled up the ladder, she swore that she could hear Sebastian saying "Merry Christmas to me."

* * *

><p>"We need to talk."<p>

Rachel glanced from her locker to see Finn standing there. He hadn't gotten together with Sugar, which meant what she said was right. So Rachel had been avoiding him purposely, only interacting with him when it was necessary during glee or school work. Normally it wasn't a big deal because Rachel almost always had Sebastian at her side, but he was going to be late to school because of a dentist appointment.

Two days earlier at Regionals, New Directions had crushed the other schools without a doubt. Santana and Mercedes led number showy number with the entire choir, Harmony and Rory had managed to snag the duet, and there was a group number where everyone had a short solo. But in the midst of the celebration Sebastian had managed to trip and chip his tooth badly, requiring a filling as soon as possible.

With Regionals over, Rachel knew she needed to step it up for nationals. She already had begun to write music and didn't let anyone know, not even Sebastian. She wanted the song to be perfect, but all the music she had written sounds worse than "My Headband". She knew she needed to draw from a place where she drew "Get it Right", but that place was impossible to find with everything going perfect in her life.

"Okay, what do you need? You have to tell me in under three minutes though, I have class and my teacher will kill me if I'm late." She asked walking towards her class.

"I miss us." He answered shaking his head. "I screwed up big time with cheating on you with Sugar."

"You had your chance." Rachel sighed, knowing that this conversation was going to come one day. "You ended it too."

Finn sighed. "I know and I'm going to prove it to you that I'm the one for you."

"Finn, we're over. Please, I'd still be friends with you; I just don't want any games." Rachel said as she turned down the hall.

"This isn't a game though. Remember our picnic on the stage? Remember I'm forever yours faithfully?" He said with a sad smile.

Rachel wanted to believe he was doing this because he liked her, even if Rachel would never get back with him. She was in love with Sebastian, even with this flattery. But Sugar's words echoed in her head. "Berry Cherry" rang like a bell in her mind, reminding her that he just wanted sex with her.

She hadn't had it with Sebastian, though she almost considered having it on the stage with him. But she knew that making out session shouldn't have ended with that. It was hard to believe that had been together for three and a half months. It had been the best time of her life of her life; she hadn't had to worry about any sexual pressure from him. Though she was nervous for her first, she knew it was going to be soon and she wouldn't want it from anyone else.

"I remember and you weren't. You're a great guy, you always have been. But all of the things you have done, I'm not going to go back." She frowned. "Here's my class. Bye Finn."

"I love you."

Rachel pretended she didn't hear that as she settled into her Spanish class. Though she was supposed to be talking in complete Spanish, it didn't stop her mind from racing in English. He shouldn't have said those three words and to her. The only boys that were allowed to say that was her daddies, Kurt or Blaine in a friendly way, and Sebastian.

Rachel shook it off, glad that Sebastian arrived two periods later. They finished out their remainder of classes for the day when it was finally after school. Rachel had been excited for the lack of glee club today. Though she would have loved to be able to spend the hour with her best friends and her boyfriend doing the one thing she loves the most, she was excited to go out to eat on a date with Sebastian and for the Valentine's Day party tonight at Tina's.

"So how was your day?" Sebastian asked, collecting his history notes.

"Good except for a conversation I had with Finn this morning." She whispered.

Sebastian's eyes widened. "What did he say to you?"

"That he wanted me to be with him and he loved me."

"That bastard thinks that you'll be crawling back to him after all he did to you! Where is he? I'm going to kick his ass!"

Rachel grabbed onto Sebastian's arm, pulling him. She had seen this look before in Sebastian's eyes after a bad game during the lacrosse season. His breathing was increasing and his eyes were looking around in every direction. She took his hands and gave his hands a squeeze, hoping to bring him back to earth.

"Sebastian, just calm down please. That's not the worst of it, but if I tell you, you have to calm down."

"Fine" Sebastian settled as he took a deep breath in. "What is it?"

"I didn't want to tell you because I never took it seriously until today." Rachel sighed. "Sugar said he only wanted me to steal my virginity."

For a moment Sebastian looked calm, but that was too soon. Rachel instantly regretted saying that. His hand flew and hit his locker out of anger, Rachel could tell he instantly regretted the move. She sighed as she examined his hand where it already started to bleed. The nurse had left the previous period because of food poisoning; she knew that there wasn't much she could do here.

"I'll get something to wrap that in."

She was thankful the bathroom was nearby. With the toilet paper holder locked so students wouldn't steal the rolls, she rolled out as much as she could before exiting the bathroom. She rolled the giant pile of fluff around his hand as many time as she could. Though it bled through, she didn't think it was going to need stitches.

"Let me drive you home." Rachel said.

"I'm fine." He lied. "It's just going to be sore but I'll be fine. We have to get to the restaurant before the party."

Rachel stuck her palm out. "Give me the keys we can go out to eat another time."

With the truck's keys in her hands, they walked to the parking lot. She climbed into the truck and had to adjust the car seat set for Sebastian. She felt like she was driving in a tank that could have crushed anybody as she drove towards his home. Rachel followed the path that she had taken so many times and when she turned into the driveway, helped him into the bathroom in his bedroom.

"Here, let's run your hand under some cold water." She said.

She removed the toilet paper and a large splatter of the blood hit the front of her dress. The bright pink dress would definitely stain, but she tried not to show disappointment. She ignored it as she pulled the bandages from the drawer. She wrapped his hand around the tan colored bandage and when his hand was finally clean, she gave him a small kiss on the cheek.

"Here, let me get some clothes for you. I can throw that in the wash and get the stain right out." Sebastian said.

She stood in the bathroom with her arms crossed, waiting for him to return. This wasn't the Valentine's Day she imagined. It was going downhill, but she still had a chance to save it. She decided that she would make him something instead of going out, it'll probably be a lot more enjoyable anyways.

"Here's some stuff. It might run big, but it's better than nothing." Sebastian shrugged.

She took the small pile of clothes and changed into the Dalton lacrosse sweatshirt she remembered he wore on the day they met. She slipped on the sweater and flannel bottoms over her tights. She walked out of the bathroom and handed the folded dress towards him. Rachel could tell he was embarrassed by the fact he might have ruined her dress.

"I'll be back in like five minutes. I'll call the restaurant and see if they have another time open, then I'll throw this is in the wash. Just get comfortable and help yourself to anything."

When he left the room, Rachel quickly shut the door and began to wander around her boyfriend's room. Curiosity got the best of her as she wandered to his closet. She opened the door only to see exactly what she was looking for. In his closet the warbler jacket still hung, waiting for him to wear it at any time. She felt her heart racing as an idea formulated in her mind.

She stepped out of the pajama pants and tights, taking the sweater off next. She pulled one of the button ups that were hanging and pulled it on. It fell three fourths of the way down her thigh with it completely buttoned. It was huge on her, so was the warbler jacket that she pulled over that. That nearly skimmed her knees that were shaking from nerves. Rachel shook her hair that was pinned up.

Lastly she tied the tie around her neck, realizing this was probably the most foolish thing she has ever done. She took one spin in the mirror, hoping that what she was doing was going to be what he wanted. She loved Sebastian and though she knew it would happen soon, she was finally ready to show it to him.

"Rachel, the restaurant didn't have any more open times so we'll have to eat somewhere else. Wait did something happen? Why is the door shut?"

"Nothing happened, just come on in." She answered, sitting on his bed.

He opened the door and Rachel swore she saw his jaw drop. She stood up and walked across the room before stopping right in front of him. After placing a long kiss on his lips she grinned as she walked him towards the bed without any struggle.

"Happy Valentine's Day Sebastian"


	3. Chapter 3

**Part Three:**

* * *

><p>It was near the end of May and Nationals was rapidly approaching. There was only two weeks until the competition and Rachel knew she had to get to work on that song of hers. It had to be perfect and couldn't have a single flaw. She let her friends know she was writing, but none of the songs were coming out the way she wanted.<p>

"I just can't seem to get inspiration." Rachel complained one day on the way to glee club.

She felt Sebastian place his hands on her hips with a wriggle of his brows. "I can give you some inspiration tonight."

"Sebastian!" Rachel blushed, hoping her friends hadn't heard the comment. She moved his hands off of her hips and locked fingers with him.

Blaine gave Sebastian a glare. "Please don't talk about that around me. I don't want to imagine Rachel doing anything like that."

"Sorry Blaine. My boyfriend doesn't seem to know when to keep his mouth shut." She glared at Sebastian.

"You didn't seem to mind the other day." Sebastian smirked as fingers traced circles on her hand. "Especially when I-"

"Too much information" Kurt interrupted as he covered his ears.

Thankfully Blaine hadn't heard. But when Sebastian was about to open his mouth and make some comment again, but a squeeze on his hand that was strong enough to turn his hand white silenced him. He placed a kiss on her forehead and wore his best show choir smile. "I love you Rachel."

"Love you too." She said sarcastically, glancing down at his hand where the scar sat from where he punched that locker almost three months earlier.

Blaine and Sebastian had become better friends since Sebastian started dating Rachel, Blaine wasn't too content when he found out Rachel no longer just held hands with him. He was even unhappy knowing that she had made out with Sebastian. Rachel hadn't told Blaine that they had sex because she was afraid he was going to play the "I'm practically her brother" card with him and rip him a new one. Blaine only thought Sebastian was kidding about all of the jokes.

They entered the choir room where students had filled in. She took her usual spot in the front row beside Sebastian, letting their hands intertwine. The room was full of conversation over the latest glee club scandal. Apparently this afternoon Lauren announced that she will be leaving not only glee club but also Puck for some college boy she had met at a St. Patrick's Day party.

"So what's happening with Noah?" Rachel asked Sam.

Sam shrugged. "Lauren was his life besides Beth."

"Poor Noah." Rachel sighed and looked towards Sebastian. "One of you should have him over for a game night. You could play Call of Duty or something like that. "

Mike shrugged. "It's Friday, I doubt my parents will care. My dad has a late shift at the hospital."

All of the boys started in on their plans while Rachel thought of making her own. "Let's have a girl's night tonight. My daddies said I could have friends over this weekend while they were at a meeting. We can camp out in my Oscar room and watch movies and sing karaoke."

None of the girls seemed to disagree, not even Sugar who once seemed to hate her. She even volunteered to bring food and Harmony even said she would bring drinks. Santana, Quinn, and Brittany also agreed which shocked Rachel the most. For once, Rachel felt like everything was going right. None of her friends hated her, everyone was just happy to be together. Kurt would be spending the night, but Blaine said he might swing between both.

"All right everyone, now that all of that is settled let's get started on this week's assignment." Mr. Schuester approached the board and began to write.

"This week and the next two weeks' assignment are to write an original song that can be a duet, a group number, or solo piece. As many glee veterans know, last year Rachel wrote an amazing original song and so did the group as a whole. Up until this point, I've prepared you on other songs so we have a few in back pocket. But it's the original song mixed in gives us an element of surprise so we are guaranteed first place at nationals. Wait a second, where's Finn?"

As if it was on cue, Finn entered the room. He wore a letterman jacket, his hair was slicked back, he wore converse, and he seemed to remind Rachel of something she couldn't place. All she knew was that she had a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach. Sebastian's grip on her tightened and she felt her breath hitch.

"Mr. Schuester, I hate to interrupt but I have to do something." Finn said.

"Well sure. Are you going to perform something? It's been a while since you have." Mr. Schuester asked.

"Yes. Hit it Brad."

The piano started playing and Rachel was instantly sent back into her sophomore year. He was singing "You're the One That I Want" from Grease, the first duet they had ever performed together. She tried to keep her cool as he began singing because she knew Sebastian wasn't going to.

_"I got chills, they're multiplying, and I'm losing control! Cause the power you're supplying, it's electrifying!"_

Finn slid across the floor on his knees and ended up directly in front of her. Rachel knew he was waiting for her to respond by singing the chorus. Instead Sebastian stood up and responded for him.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Sebastian yelled.

"Singing to the girl I love." Finn responded standing up. "You don't know her like I do."

Rachel wasn't sure who had started it. But in one swift moment the two were throwing blows towards each other. Though people were screaming, the room went silent to her. Everything seemed to drag on for eternity as Sebastian continued to hit Finn, using his experience from Dalton's fight club to his advantage.

"Would you both just stop already?" Rachel yelled.

Neither of them did, but after another thirty seconds people were finally able to pull the boys apart. Mike and Rory held Sebastian as he reached for Finn again. Sebastian only seemed to gain a black eye and a scratch from the experience. Mr. Schuester and Sam didn't have to hold Sebastian as tightly as they did Finn, but Finn appeared seemed to be out of a horror film with the number of injuries he had obtained. Sebastian's ring must had caught on Finn's face somewhere, there was blood gushing out of his head.

Rachel knew she should have hurried to Sebastian's side, but with her Dad being a doctor the urge to help Finn came first. She grabbed the nearby tissues and held it against his head. He smiled the largest smile she had ever seen as she held the tissues against him.

"This doesn't mean I chose you. It means that I know you got your ass kicked worse. I'm at the verge of my breaking point, but you might need stitches. You need to go to the hospital."

She looked over her shoulder when she realized that Sebastian was out of her sight. With his temper, she instantly knew what happened. He must have thought she chose Finn. She felt tears fall out of her eye as she realized why Finn was smiling. She shoved him into the piano and ran out of the door of the choir room, hoping to find him.

She ran down the halls, knowing his bag with his car keys was still in the choir room. She ran to the locker room, barging in and checking if he was in there hitting the punching bag like he did when he was angry. She ran to the parking lot to see if he was just sitting in his car like he did when he needed to think. Rachel ran to the field where he ran laps whenever his mother tried to talk to him. She tried every place at this school until she realized the one place where he would be.

He would have been in the auditorium dancing, like he did whenever he was sad.

She opened the door to see him in mid twist and turn, music streaming from his phone. For the first time Rachel saw her boyfriend cry. Tears ran down his face as he danced and it broke her heart. She shouldn't have run to Finn, even if he was hurt more. She should have checked Sebastian before she helped Finn.

As the song concluded, he turned around realizing she was there.

"What do you want?" Sebastian spat as he turned back around, trying to hide his tears.

She approached him and placed her arms around him. "Let me talk to you."

He pulled out of his hold "I was actually stupid enough to believe we were going to last. It was too good to be true. Finn and I fought, but who did you run to after? Finn the guy you never said you would go back to. After everything he did to you and how treated you so badly, you still chose him. I know you care about me, but he obviously still holds priority in your heart."

"Sebastian, please let me explain…. He was so hurt and-"

"There's nothing to explain." Sebastian hissed. "It's obvious what matters most to you."

"Are we over?" She sobbed.

"We were over the moment you chose him over me."

* * *

><p>Rachel didn't know how long she sat on that stage sobbing. All she knew was that felt like a life time when Blaine and Kurt who brought her home. She felt empty, like someone tore the best part of her out. As she walked down the halls to Kurt's car, every spot in the hallway reminded her of a moment.<p>

The first place they made out in school. The bathroom where she washed the slushy out of his hair. The locker where she met him. The classroom where he met her outside of, offering to carry her books. Every spot that would seem like just an ordinary part of a building sent flashbacks through her mind. As she climbed into the back of Kurt's car, she thought of the various double dates where she had small moments in the car.

Rachel pretended to sleep in car so she could avoid conversation, but in the midst of pretending she heard one between her best friends. She kept her face down in the car door as the radio played some pop station as the boys talked.

"What do you think happened?" Kurt asked.

"They broke up obviously." Blaine sighed.

"Where'd you get that clue?" Kurt groaned. "Was it that fact she was in a ball crying on stage or the fact she isn't talking about how wonderful Sebastian is?"

"Quiet down." Blaine whispered. "This might be the only sleep she gets for next few days."

"Blaine, I think he did it. Rachel isn't the one who breaks hearts, she has too good of heart to hurt anyone else's on purpose. She was just trying to help him, doctor runs in her blood."

"If that's the case, I'm going to kill him." Blaine started. "Sebastian said he wouldn't hurt her and I actually believed him! I can understand why he would be mad, but to breakup with Rachel over just trying to helping someone? That's terrible."

As they turned into Rachel's driveway, she pretended to wake up. She was thankful there was an overnight trip for her daddies. She assumed the party was cancelled as she trudged up the stairs into her bedroom. She shut the door before the boys could enter and she sat at her desk, pulling out the pen with the gold star on top.

"Rachel let us in!"

"No! Let me write, let me be alone!" She cried. "I'll be down soon, I promise."

She had been complaining that she wanted inspiration, but she had never intended it in this way. She began to write words down, unsure of where it would go. She ignored the faded banging from her best friends on the door as she scribbled on the pink pad. As she finished the six lines that would become a chorus, new verses just poured out of her.

She frowned knowing that it was good, but she wished she would have written something from that didn't come from this pain. Rachel walked to the bathroom, knowing that she was going to have to face the boys soon. She used a piece of the toilet paper and some lotion to remove the makeup that ran down her face. She turned the hot water on in the shower and got out of her clothes, stepping into the water.

Rachel hoped that there would be the cliché of washing away the past. Instead, as the water ran down her cheeks she imagined the tears running down Sebastian's. It sent her stomach into knots and she ignored the feeling, washing her hair. When she finally finished in the shower, she slipped into her robe and walked into her bedroom.

Opening her closet, she looked at her favorite sweater. It wasn't the carousel one that lit up anymore. It was the simple oversized sweatshirt that had Sebastian's name and number from lacrosse at McKinley. Holding it up, she took a deep breath in and inhaled the familiar sent. She sighed as she trudged to her dresser, taking out the comfortable sweatpants set that she used for working out

She glanced over the shoulder, seeing the sun had started to set. Rachel realized she must have taken at least two hours, even if it felt like only moments. She had to cheer herself up and act like any good host with the glee girls coming over. As she creaked open the bedroom door she saw the two boys sitting outside on the floor, holding hands and talking in hushed tones. They stood up in an instant and pulled her into the tightest hug she had ever had.

"I was awake in the car." Rachel muttered. "All of what you said was true. He broke up with me because I was an idiot who helped her ex-boyfriend before her boyfriend."

"It's not your fault." Kurt said.

"But it is." She sighed. "I should have chased him."

"It's never just one person's fault. I'll call off the sleepover tonight. We can talk about it later." Kurt took her hand.

"No, don't let me ruin the fun." Rachel shook her head. "Call everyone and let them know the party is still on tonight."

"Rachel I insist you cancel. You're not ready for everyone to ask you about it." Blaine said.

"No, but I have to be at some point." Rachel shrugged. "It's not like he's going to come barging back to my door anytime soon. He's angry and when he's angry for what feels like forever. He's probably going to need a while to cool down if he ever forgives me."

"He loves you, you love him." Blaine's face suddenly lit up. "I might know where to find him. Kurt, I'm going to take your car."

He placed a quick kiss on Rachel's forehead before pecking Kurt quickly and running down the stairs. Kurt placed a hand on Rachel's back, guiding her down the stairs where he already started party preparations just in case. He placed all the non-vegan food he could find out along with a large fruit salad that Rachel always kept in her fridge.

Soon enough to Rachel's surprise, people were arriving and they weren't questioning her about Sebastian. Rachel was happy to see that Mercedes and Tina were the first to arrive and they were dressed down in pajamas just like her. They had arrived with tears of laughter in their eyes, still laughing about what had happened to Finn after Rachel left.

"You should have seen it!" Tina said as she sat on the couch.

"First after you left, Mr. Schuester helped wash all the blood off as he waited for Finn's mom to get there. So then Santana walked right up to him and slapped him so hard she left a hand print." Tina started giggling.

"Here's the best part, Santana started yelling in Spanish and all I could translate was that he was a 'desperate little boy who doesn't even deserve his left hand'." Mercedes cackled.

Rachel couldn't help but crack a smile at the girls who were laughing like they did when they were drunk.

"Then Puck came into the room and he almost started another fight after Rory filled him in on what happened."

She glanced over to see Kurt joining in on the conversation. "It was like an episode of Jerry Springer in glee club today."

"You know, up until today when the girls said that they would come here tonight, I honestly thought most of the glee club didn't like me."

"That was true until last year." Quinn said, stepping into her basement with Santana and Brittany behind her. "You were one of the biggest pains we knew."

"But you're actually not all that bad anymore." Santana shrugged hiding a smile. "You were one of the few who supported me coming out and you even offered to let me stay here if I ever needed a place. Even after all I put you through you were still that kind."

"Rachel, we may hate your talent but you're not a bad person." Harmony said as she followed down the stairs.

"I'm sorry if I've given you any trouble." Sugar frowned. "I was just sucked into that stupid world Finn put's you in."

Rachel accepted the hug from the girl and the guests settled onto the couches in the Oscar room. Rachel made sure the liquor cabinet was locked as she put the DVD in. It was some horror movie that Harmony had brought over with a plotline that seemed almost too predictable. Yet as everyone jumped and screamed every appearance of the killer, the whole group just seemed to bond in a way that they hadn't before.

No one had to pretend to hate each other, Brittany and Santana held hands without fear, and Kurt threw his head dramatically into Rachel's shoulder every time there was blood exclaiming "This is the reason why I need Blaine!"

At the conclusion of the movie, Rachel turned on the lights and saw that Kurt's phone had a message. "Kurt, Blaine sent you a picture. Want me to just give it to you?"

Kurt shrugged as he put a chip in his mouth. "It's probably one of those stupid forwards because he actually believes there's a chance he might die if he doesn't send it. You can open it."

It wasn't a forward. It was an image of Sebastian making out with some guy and Blaine saying he told Sebastian never to even dare to talk to Rachel unless if he's saying sorry. Blaine said he called him a lying and cheating bastard that got mad at her for no reason and now he was making out with some stranger. Blaine ended the message saying he was on his way back to Rachel's house to drop off Kurt's car.

She read the message twice and it still didn't sink in. Rachel felt light headed and she leaned against the counter trying to process what she just read. She looked again, thinking that the third time would just prove it was a silly forward, but what she originally saw was still there. Maybe he really didn't love her, she thought tossed the phone to Kurt as she took her seat beside him.

"He's going to pay for that." Kurt said.

"No," Rachel tried to stop the tears. "Let him do what he wants."

By the time Blaine returned it was nearly ten thirty. The group didn't press her on what the message like she expected, they could tell that she wasn't in the mood. So they instead played another movie, this time going for a comedy. It was some comedy about a group of friends going on some summer adventure and finding out who they really were; Rachel couldn't help but find herself not focusing on the movie.

"Do you guys hear that?" Blaine asked, sitting up from his position on the couch. "It sounds like something banging on the front door."

They all hurried up the stairs and most of the girls gathered around the window as Blaine headed to the door. Rachel followed Blaine and froze when she recognized the voice yelling at the door. It was no one other than Sebastian Smythe in his drunken tone that Rachel had only heard a few times.

"Rachel! Please let's talk!"

"Go away!" She yelled and Blaine shushed her.

"Rachel is that you? I'm so sorry. I kissed my friend from Dalton because I'm drunk and angry, he means nothing. All he did was giving me a ride there and here. Please listen to me, I love you."

She looked in through the small window; his truck wasn't in the driveway at least. She saw by the way he looked he wasn't lying, but as much as she wanted to forgive him and take him into her arms; he had made the decision to go to the bar with his friend. He had made the decision to kiss him, drunk or not.

"What do you want me to do?" Blaine whispered.

"Tell him to leave." She answered.

But before Blaine could, Santana opened the door and grabbed the stumbling boy by the front of his shirt. "What you did to Berry wasn't okay. She and I aren't best friends, but she is one of the nicest girls I know. You will get your drunken ass off of her porch and you will not speak to her unless if she speaks to you. Or I will get all Lima Heights on you Meer cat manner Robert Pattison look alike ass."

She gave him a shove and slammed the door before wearing her smile.

"Harmony brought Movies and Sugar brought food to the party. So think of this as my gift to the host." Santana smiled. "Now let's get our snackin' on, downstairs there's a plate of breadsticks calling my name."

* * *

><p>It was so hard for Rachel to resist running to Sebastian every time he was in her vicinity. Everyone had told her to avoid him because after what he did, the only way he should gain respect is by kissing the ground she walked on and earning her trust back. But no one allowed him the chance to do that. Even on the airplane to New York where they were originally seated beside each other, somehow Sugar ended up between them. So Rachel plugged her head phones into the television built into the seat ahead of her and listened to the boring documentary.<p>

Of course she had tried to talk to him, but everyone kept a careful eye on her and tried to keep them apart. Everyone said she was too good for him, yet Rachel didn't feel that way. Blaine would always find various distractions, Mercedes or Tina would try to ask her opinion on something, and Kurt would remind her "Once a cheater, always a cheater. Remember Finn?"

She was angry still with Sebastian. Though she went and helped Finn who actually needed five stiches on his forehead, Sebastian had no right to kiss that guy even if he didn't matter to him. Rachel loved Sebastian and she would probably get back together with him, because she still missed him. But it was going to take something incredible for him to get her attention.

When they arrived to the same hotel that they stayed at the previous year, they immediately received their rooms. This hotel held all of the teams competing because of the theatre being directly next door. It was a good thing because they had awareness of their competition, but unfortunately their competition was going to be the hardest yet. She learned that from the girls' choir that was on the same floor who rehearsed every evening while she and her roommates tried to sleep.

A new rule was added this year: no couples were allowed to share rooms. So Rachel found herself in a room with Brittany, Mercedes, and Tina; all three were taken and in happy relationships. Throughout the week the days fell into a schedule. Mornings they would dance. Afternoons they would go on little day trips like seeing "Phantom of the Opera" or visiting tourist attractions. Evenings the group had a vocal rehearsal and then they would be free for the evening with a ten o'clock curfew.

But the morning of Nationals came too quickly. When Rachel woke up in the morning, she realized what a whirlwind the glee club had put her through. When she joined as a sophomore, she was a completely different person. She was a scared girl who had no friends, no experience in love. She had nothing. But now as a senior, she was a woman. She had the best friends she could imagine.

Tomorrow morning, whether they win or not; it was all over. Sure, they were probably going to have some goodbye song for graduation, but there would never be another competition. It would be the end of it all. She wouldn't be able to say "Oh there's next year", instead everything depended on today. The next time she would be in New York, she would be attending NYADDA and on the path to completing her dreams.

As she stepped into the dress, she zipped up the dress and stared at herself in the mirror. There was something missing about this outfit. She reached into her makeup bag, finding the small snowflake necklace that she had taken off two weeks earlier. She clipped the jewelry around her neck and felt nearly complete, but there was still something missing.

"Rachel there's a phone call, it's for you." Brittany hollered.

Rachel entered the main portion of the room where Brittany held the phone against the sleeve of her matching dress. Rachel took the receiver and heard the voice of Noah who was directly across the hallway from her. As she listened to him, she mouthed "Tie the bow?" to Tina.

After a moment of him babbling about his nerves, Rachel noticed that most of the girls had returned to the bathroom to finish getting ready for the competition. So she settled onto the ledge of the bed she and Brittany were sharing and twirled the cord around her finger.

"You'll be fine today. We'll give the audience the best duet they've ever seen." She reassured him.

"I just wanted to say one last thing. I wanted to say thanks for everything. You gave me this opportunity to perform, you helped me get into college, you arranged that game night trying to make me feel better and you always answered any question I had about babysitting Beth. I know once we get to the competition downstairs it's going to be crazy and that today isn't going to go the way everyone probably planned, so I just wanted to thank you now."

The smile on her face grew immensely. "It's no problem. A Jew has to help out their fellow Jew right?"

"Your right my Jewish princess. Break a leg out there."

"You too." She smiled, hanging up the phone.

"Don't tell me you're going out with Robert Pattison?" Mercedes groaned using the nickname that Santana had given Sebastian.

"Why should it matter if she is?" Brittany asked. "People make mistakes and he made Rachel happy. We all deserve to be happy. There's always going to be rain before the rainbow, all they had was a little rain shower. It shouldn't slow them down."

Everyone looked towards Brittany who had never really voiced her opinion on the topic. She just shrugged and stepped into her heels, opening the hotel room door and wordlessly left the room to presumably join Santana. Rachel stepped into her own heels and made sure she had everything ready for competition.

"I'm going to head down. Are you guys coming soon?" She asked.

Mercedes nodded. "We're just waiting for Mike and Sam to finish up. I swear they take longer than us."

Rachel stepped out of her doorway just as Sebastian had. Neither of them could avoid each other, so they walked to the nearby elevator and climbed in joining the other various show choirs in the small space. She was uncomfortable in the elevator full of laughter and chatter; she faced Sebastian with a smile.

He looked gorgeous like he always did. Just instead of his hair being his usual gelled and windblown look that he wore in public, it sat on his forehead like it did naturally. The way Rachel liked it best because it showcased his beautiful eyes. He was dressed like all of the other boys; he was in all black outfit besides a white tie.

"You look really handsome, but you need to straighten your tie." Rachel shifted the white tie. "I thought you would be

"You look beautiful." Sebastian said before glancing down at her neck. "You're wearing the necklace I gave you."

"I needed a good luck charm."

"But Rachel Berry, you don't need any luck."

She turned her head to the boy stepping in the elevator. Instinctively she grabbed Sebastian's hand, but she quickly let go as her former boyfriend stepped into the now compact locker. Jesse St. James looked exactly as she remembered, the same smirk and sense of confidence that he wore.

"Who's this?" He asked looking at Sebastian. "A new freshman for New Directions?"

"I'm a senior and my name is Sebastian Smythe." Sebastian growled. "I'm her b-friend."

Jesse realized that he was going "boyfriend" and he cocked a smirk. "Oh, I'm Jesse St. James, her former boyfriend as well."

"You're the tool who used her to spy on the competition and then egged her as a sophomore." Sebastian said. "I hate your guts."

"Good to know the feelings mutual." Jesse answered before turning towards Rachel. "I just wanted to invite you to the Vocal Adrenaline after victory party tonight. I'll message you my room number later. It's a shame you never transferred, you could have been the one leading us tonight."

"New Directions in my family." She answered. "Now please don't insult the choir you're going to lose to."

He chortled. "But you haven't changed at all. You still have that dedication that I still find so sexy. And you're looking good; you still have that tight little butt of yours."

Jesse went to go pat her rear, but Sebastian sent her a look that made him stop.

"Don't touch her." Sebastian glared.

Rachel noticed the elevator had gone silent at this exchange. So she was thankful as the door opened and she saw members of her glee club gathered at a cluster of chairs. She walked towards the group where Kurt and Blaine were, she noticed Blaine giving her a look that seemed to say "What are you doing?"

But Kurt wore a completely different one. He knew who was in the elevator and he stood up from his seat and took a hold of Rachel. "Jesse St. Jerk was in there. Did he talk to you?"

"He was a sleaze." Sebastian groaned. "He look at her like he wanted to eat her and invited her up to his room. I stopped him from grabbing her. Jesse is such a creep."

Blaine seemed to realize that Sebastian wasn't being the bad guy. "Thanks for watching out for her."

"Did it feel like that when we were dating? You know like the need to be super protective over her?" Sebastian asked Blaine.

Blaine nodded sending a smile to her. "Rachel Berry has that effect on people."


	4. Chapter 4

**The Last Part. Part 4:**

* * *

><p>Rachel watched as the group before hers performed as she waited in the winds. Her heart raced as the stage hand attached microphone to her face. Her song was going to be performed after this amazing group from Kentucky? How was she going to compete with this? The song after it was an original that the group had written together. It was another one of those cheery anthems but Rachel found it to be her favorite.<p>

When the other group started doing these really complicated tricks, she suddenly felt more nervous than she ever had. Her breathing increased and she looked across the stage to see Noah standing there giving her a wave. If Noah wasn't nervous, then she shouldn't be.

Finally the group on stage concluded as the lights dimmed out. She knew that Mike and Brittany were ready for their chance to shine. In this song while Rachel and Noah would sing, Brittany Mike would do their dance to the song that would later be joined by the rest of the choir who'd sing back up at the end of the final chorus.

"From Lima, Ohio presenting New Directions."

Rachel took a deep breath as the music began to play and she stepped out onto the stage just as the spotlight hit her and Brittany who began at the same time.

_Boy it's been all this time,_

_And I can't get you off my mind,_

_And nobody knows it but me._

_I stare at your photograph,_

_Still sleep in the shirt you left,_

_And nobody knows it but me._

_Everyday I wipe my tears away,_

_So many nights I've prayed for you to say._

Rachel sang to the audience, still feeling the emotion she felt when she wrote the song at her desk. She sang it and tried to reach that point, hoping to give the most authentic performance possible. With the whole room in silence without as much as a cough, she felt like she was doing it right. This was how her life was going to be, even if she still felt that empty feeling on the pit of her stomach.

_I should have been chasing you,_

_I should have been trying to prove,_

_That you were all that mattered to me,_

_I should have said all the things,_

_That I kept inside of me and maybe,_

_I could have made you believe,_

_That what we had was all we ever need._

Rachel couldn't believe her ears. She blinked the tears that were starting to form in her eyes to the voice that was echoing her own. On the other side of the stage she saw Sebastian singing Noah's part, wearing a smile that nearly made her drop to her knees and sob. He sang the part perfectly on key, making Rachel wonder how much of her practice with Noah had actually been retaught to Sebastian.

That's when Noah's words echoed in her head "Today isn't going to go the way everyone probably planned".

Rachel watched as he began to sing Noah's verse. She smiled not only at him, but at the sight of Mr. Schuester who seemed to be angry at first in the audience. But as he sang, Mr. Schuester's frown changed into a smile that might have been bigger than her own. She understood exactly what his expression said. We had it in the bag.

"Just don't kiss him." He mouthed from the front row.

They sang their hearts out and even though she had written the song herself, he sang it knowing he had a huge part of the creation in the first place. They walked towards each other and Rachel resisted her urge to run into his arms. She wondered how many of her friends actually knew about this. Maybe it might have been just Sebastian and Noah, but she couldn't have been too sure. She was just so honored to be singing her last time for a competition with Sebastian on stage.

They continued the song, going through the movements as she had rehearsed with Noah. She never broke eye contact with him, even during the twists and lifts she didn't dare waste another moment without him. The last few weeks had been absolute torture without him and he filled the part that felt so empty.

As the key changed he placed her down as the other members took their spots on the stage, even Artie who waited in the background to make his debut in the opening number. Rachel finally allowed the tears that were falling from her eyes, not caring if they ruined the remainder of the song. The audience was sold.

_"It was all we'd ever need."_ Sebastian placed his forehead against hers.

_"Oh, I thought it was all we'd ever need."_ Rachel sang.

They sang through the remainder of chorus and as the song finally concluded the room had gone completely silent for a moment. With her hand holding tightly to Sebastian's she feared the worse. Instead the room all at once stood at their feet, cheering. Mr. Schuester sent them a whistle and Rachel glanced over her shoulder at Blaine and Kurt.

"You were amazing." Blaine mouthed.

As the beginning of the next song started Rachel looked at Sebastian and gave him a nod, signaling the start of the next song's music.

"Hello New York!" He yelled.

"We are the New Directions!" Rachel said motioning towards her choir.

She led the clap that audience eagerly followed. She went to her formation where she was now partners with Sebastian. Noah had partnered with Sugar as they did the pop number's dance. Though Artie lead the choir at this point, each of the seniors had their moment to shine. Every senior had their own short solo in this piece about being who you are.

When the song concluded and they exited the stage itself and into the waiting area for all of the teams Rachel tackled Sebastian in a kiss that put every other one they ever had to shame. She didn't care that there was at least another hundred people watching she wrapped her legs around his waist in a kiss as she cried.

"I'm so sorry." He whispered.

"I'm sorry." Rachel whispered as he placed her onto the ground. "I should have never helped him, I should have just accepted your apology when you came to my door. I shouldn't have ignored you. I'm so sorry."

She just stayed as tight as she could in his arms of his. When Mr. Schuester and Ms. Pillsbury came into the room, Rachel still held on nervously in a hug to Sebastian as he approached the two.

"What you did out there was completely idiotic and could have ruined our entire shot at Nationals!" He said loudly.

"But luckily you made it only better. Everyone loved you two. I would say never pull a stunt like that again, but there isn't going to be again for you two. For any of the underclassman, I expect nothing like that to happen. But I'm so proud of you all, let's bring it in."

The group pulled into a tight group hug. Rachel glanced to see Sebastian even hugging Blaine, making her believe that the last few weeks could be erased from everyone's memory. When they broke from the hug, everyone began to follow Mr. Schuester to their section in the audience where they would watch the after intermission portion of today's performance.

"Sebastian wait"

Rachel spun around to see Finn directly behind them.

"What Finn?" Rachel asked shaking her head.

"I'm sorry for everything. You guys were amazing out there." Finn extended his hand towards Sebastian.

They shook it and Sebastian gave Finn a genuine smile. "I really appreciate it."

"Take care of her."

Finn disappeared within the group of students and Rachel took Sebastian's hand as they sat in the chairs. The other groups performed but there was one thing that Rachel noticed. None of them had the same emotion. They all cared about their performance and they all wore smiles, but none of them truly seemed to show how much it mattered.

That's exactly why New Directions took First Place that year.

* * *

><p>"I can't believe we really did it." Rachel whispered as she stepped into the empty elevator. "After all these years we finally not only went to nationals, but we took home first place."<p>

It still shocked her as she stood in the eerily silent room. After all this time of trying to prove everyone that she was worth it, she finally did. After the performance she and Sebastian was stopped by an actual agent and not one that was a joke, asked if anyone was representing them. When they said no, each of them were given business cards and were told to call back when they returned to New York in the fall for school.

"I can." Sebastian answered. "What I can't believe is that my plan actually worked."

"Maybe you're not as much of Meer cat and more of a Romeo." She giggled.

"You're not so much of a Pinocchio Juliet as I remember." He placed his hands on her hips, pulling her tightly against his chest. "I'm never going to do anything that stupid again. I promise."

"You better not." Rachel glanced up. "Or I'll kick your ass like you did Finn's."

He cocked a brow. "Like you could even reach that far"

"Don't test me Smythe." She challenged. "You may be one of the tallest boys I know, but that won't stop me."

"Not only the tallest, but the strongest, the sexiest, the smartest, and the list just goes on and on." Sebastian smirked.

She rolled her eyes. "Somebody's full of themselves."

"You can be full of me if you want." Sebastian winked.

"Not with me around."

The elevator door just happened to open with Kurt and Blaine stepping in. Kurt had a red face from embarrassment and Blaine seemed to be disgusted with Sebastian. Blaine pulled him aside to the opposite corner of the elevator while Rachel and Kurt watched the exchange from their corner of the room.

"You will not as much think of doing anything besides kissing until she's at least twenty five and married to you. Got it Smythe?"

"Blaine we had sex already." Rachel said, finally letting her best friend know.

Sebastian chuckled and bent down so his mouth was right beside Blaine's ear. "And we've done it more than you can count on your hands and feet."

"Sebastian!" Rachel squealed.

Rachel sent Sebastian a look as Blaine seemed to grow more embarrassed. She marched over to the other side of the elevator and grabbed his hand, giving Blaine space from Sebastian. The door opened to their floor and Rachel began walking towards her room, dragging Sebastian from behind.

"Looks like we know who wears the pants in the relationship." Kurt said sending Rachel a glance.

"Not for long." Sebastian said towards the two boys.

"Sebastian Smythe I'm going to kill you."

Rachel held her laughter as she quickly opened the door of her hotel room and shut it behind her. Sebastian sauntered in, throwing his tie on a chair and taking a spot on the bed. He tried to lie seductively on the bed, reminding Rachel of that scene from Titanic. She kicked off her heels and undid her hair, taking a seat on the bed beside him.

"Well we have an empty hotel room and everybody won't be back until later. We could do something." Sebastian said.

"Whatever do you mean? You mean exercise?" She pretended to be naïve.

"I hear makeup exercise is the best." He whispered.

"That would be great, but there's one problem with that." She placed a single finger on her chest. "I still share the bed with Brittany."

"That's hot." He smirked.

She shoved him so he was flat on his back. She lay down beside him and just stared at the ceiling. "Can't we just cuddle?"

He groaned at the word she sent him a look. They moved on the bed so she was wrapped in his arms, feeling like this was so much better. He ran his fingers through her hair and shook his smile "Maybe this isn't so bad."

Rachel smiled. "Blaine would approve."

"Imagine if I had actually had gotten together with Blaine." He said with his eyes wide open. "I'd still be a tool and he wouldn't be a prude."

"Did you just admit that you were a jerk in the beginning of the year?" Rachel gasped.

He nodded. "Thanks to you I became who I am now."

"Sebastian Smythe, my cocky and charming boyfriend?" Rachel grinned.

"And…" Sebastian smiled, encouraging her to carry on.

"The most wonderful man in my life who I can't imagine living without."

There was knocking at the door that interrupted the sweet moment. Rachel groaned and sat up from her comfortable spot on him. She assumed that it was one of the girls who had forgotten the key; she knew that the majority of them were partying and enjoying alcohol now that they no longer had to deal with the glee club contract.

"Rachel, it's me. Can we talk?"

"One minute Jesse."

Rachel glanced over her shoulder towards Sebastian who seemed to be furious. Rachel placed a finger on her lips as she crept over towards him. She started to unbutton his shirt and she pulled it off of him. She wiped her hair around sending it into a frazzled mess as she placed the bathrobe that hung on the bathroom door on.

"Are you coming?" Jesse asked again.

"I'll be right there." She said in a sing song voice.

Sebastian followed her as she walked to the door and stood a few feet behind her, sensing her plan. With pats on her cheeks to make herself looked flushed, Rachel opened the door and saw the roses in Jesse's hand. She bit her lip and looked at him as she ran her fingers through her now messy hair.

"Hey, is this important?" She asked.

"I wanted to say I'm sorry." Jesse said. "Can I come in?"

"I think my boyfriend would mind." Rachel said.

"Come on Rich, let's get back to bed." As if on perfect timing Sebastian entered, wrapping his hands around Rachel's waist before placing a kiss on her. "Hey Jesse."

Rachel watched as the color from Jesse's face drop. "Hey Sebastian, you two did a nice job today."

"Thanks." Sebastian grinned before noticing the flowers in his hand. "For us? Thanks, they'll look great on the bed."

He took the flowers and shut the door, sending the two teenagers into a fit of laughter as they just took the last moment in. Sebastian passed her the roses and Rachel pretended to act surprised, placing them in the tall class that sat beside the melted ice bucket. She returned to the bed and Sebastian did as well.

"I can't wait for New York so we can do everything here." Rachel said placing a kiss on his lips. "Cause more trouble than we already have."

"That reminds me, I have something I wanted to give you now that you reminded me" He shrugged before reaching into his pocket.

It was another jewelry box.

"Sebastian, I will not accept that. You have given me everything already." She said, pushing it away.

"Rachel, this box costs more than the actual gift inside. Just open it."

She took the small silky box out of her hand. She gave it a simple shake and heard the sound of something moving. She opened the small red box and saw the shiny piece of metal. She examined it, wondering what it was for. It was a silver key with a single gold star that was bedazzled. Rachel held it up to him, lifting a curious brow.

"What's this, the key to your heart?" She teased.

"You already have that and had since the day I sang with you." Sebastian said genuinely. "That's the key to our apartment this fall in New York that is if you want to live with me here."

Rachel flipped over from her position on his lap into his arms. She squealed not caring that the neighbors could here as she pulling him into the tightest hugs her could manage. She gave him one last kiss that lasted as long as they could without oxygen. Sebastian rested his forehead against Rachel's.

"I love you Sebastian Smythe." Rachel whispered.

"I love you too Rachel Berry."

* * *

><p><strong>The end. This was the longest one shot I have ever written, but if I ever get time maybe I'll write a sequel with them living together in New York. Rates, Reviews, and Responses are appreciated but not necessary. I hope you enjoyed it and will check out some of my other work.<strong>

**The songs mentioned were**

**"I Want You To Want Me" by Cheap Trick, sung by Sebastian Smythe**

**"Someday We'll Know" by Mandy More and Jonathon Foreman, sung by Rachel Berry and Sebastian Smythe**

**"You're the One That I Want" from Grease, Sung by Finn**

**"All We'd Ever Need" by Lady Antebellum, sung by Rachel Berry and Sebastian Smythe**


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